The 12 Days of Christmas
by MaggieMayI
Summary: It's their first Christmas in Dharmaville and Sawyer has a plan to make it great. The 12 Days of Christmas - Dharma style.
1. Chapter 1

The 12 Days of Christmas

* * *

Getting into the Christmas spirit and saddened by the fact that this is the last year of Lost – before we find out what ultimately happens to Sawyer and Juliet, I thought I'd give them a little Christmas fun. This is a 'Days of Dharma' fic – just a little fluff piece to give our beloved characters a little bit of holiday joy. Hope it does the same for you!

* * *

The sun was poking through the white puffy clouds, warming Juliet's face as she walked slowly down the beach. The motor pool was slow, so after lunch she'd been given the rest of the afternoon off. Instead of being cooped up in the house she decided to take a walk.

It was mid December yet the air was as hot as ever. Growing up in Florida, Juliet never saw snow, but since being trapped on the island, around this time of year she always dreamed of the frosty white flakes that made Christmas seem complete.

She thought then about the Christmases she had experienced on the island. Juliet had been on the island for just over four and a quarter years and was coming up on her fifth Christmas. The holiday season hadn't been terrible as an other. They'd exchanged presents, had had Christmas trees, holly and decorations – even mistletoe. She briefly remembered stealing a kiss from Goodwin during her second Christmas. It was late, the holiday party was nearly over – only a few stragglers remained in the rec hall. They had been standing under the mistletoe, and as not to be seen he had pulled her around the corner towards the game shelves, but it had been her first mistletoe kiss, so she hadn't minded.

"Wait up!" She heard someone shout behind her, pulling her out of her revere. Turning she saw Sawyer running to catch up.

She smiled instantly and lifted a hand to wave. He slowed to a trot knowing she'd wait for him. She thought about him then. This would be Sawyer's second Christmas on the island. The first had passed by without him even knowing it. They had been too busy trying to get off of the damn island. She hoped for his sake that his second Christmas would be a bit better.

"Hey there Sunshine," Sawyer drawled as he bent over to catch his breath, hands resting on knees.

"You know for a security guard, you aren't in the best shape," she joked and was awarded one of his best smiles.

"Watch it now Blondie," he warned. "Think it's been a little bit too long since you've been tossed off the end of that dock."

She laughed and they started ambling along.

"So what brings you to the beach in the middle of afternoon Mr. LaFleur?" she asked.

"Eh, things were slow so I decided to knock off early." He replied. "Plus," he added, "today is a very important day."

"It is?"

"Sure," he continued. "It's December 13th."

"Yeah?" she replied, not sure where he was going with this.

"C'mon Juliet, haven't you ever heard the song '12 Days of Christmas'?" he asked.

"Sure I have."

"Well, as of today there's only 13 days until Christmas, so that makes tomorrow Day 1."

She stood there for a moment, not sure what to say. Then, "I thought that Christmas Day marked the first day of Christmas and the twelve days were from Christmas to the Epiphany?"

"Oh," he paused. "Well, when have I ever done anything the right way anyway darlin'?" he drawled, trying to cover his embarrassed smile.

The last thing she wanted to do was make him feel bad so she started to play along. "So…tomorrow will I be finding a partridge in a pear tree somewhere?" she asked.

He paused, clearly realizing he hadn't fully thought through his big Christmas plan.

"And what the next day and the day after that? Where are we supposed to find all those birds?"

He laughed. "Yeah I guess that song is a little outdated."

"We could just skip to the five golden rings day!" she said with a smile.

"You wish!" he exclaimed. "Well, maybe we can update the song a little bit, make our own version of the 12 days of Christmas."

"How?" she asked. "We're stuck in the 70s, even if we update it, it will still be 30 years outdated."

He just shook his head. "Have a little faith Blondie!" He exclaimed as he gave her a small wink and took off running down the beach.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" she yelled after him, but he simply waved and kept running.

She shook her head and laughed. Since the others had left and they'd taken their little trip through time, she'd spent a lot of getting to know that man, yet he still threw her for a loop every single day. She continued her leisurely stroll down the beach, but couldn't help but be a little bit excited for what he had in store.

TBC…

I'm thinking this will be a three-chapter fic – chapter two will be Days 1-6 and chapter 3 will be Days 7-12. Will update tomorrow and Thurs so keep an eye out! Any feedback/ideas for the days is more than welcome!


	2. Chapter 2

**The 12 Days of Christmas**

* * *

Okay – I always write way too much so this got longer than I expected…so here are the first 3 days of x-mas, the other three will be updated later this evening. Thanks to Eyeon for the great suggestion, which I used for Day 3. This is harder than it seems so any fun ideas are more than welcome!

Also…had some mistakes/discrepancies in the first chapter so I updated that as well. Everything should work out time wise now…and there's also a viable explanation for why the 12 days are happening before Christmas instead of after.

R&R always appreciated!

* * *

**Day 1**

She woke to a noisy house. Living with three men was not something she thought she'd ever do, but over the past 11 months it had become home. They'd started off in a two-bedroom house, but Horace had been nice enough to have a small addition built onto the back of it, affording them each their own bedroom. In hindsight, she would have gladly shared a bedroom with any of her friends, trading hers for a second bathroom instead. But such was life. Three men, one woman, one bathroom. At least they attempted to keep things clean.

Juliet stretched and got out of bed. She threw on a light robe to cover her shorts and tank top. She made her way to the bathroom, and once done, walked into the kitchen. What she found was three men attempting to make pancakes. She realized that the word 'attempt' had taken up permanent residence in her vocabulary.

"That's what I get for the first day of Christmas?" she asked, bringing her entrance to their attention. "The Three Stooges?"

Miles rolled is eyes, Jin laughed and Sawyer glanced over his shoulder to give her a smile and a wink.

"I'd like to think I'm a little more creative than that Blondie," he chuckled, as he carried a steaming pile of pancakes over to the table.

She returned his smile and then lowered her gaze, which brought her to the quick realization that he was walking around the kitchen shirtless. She instantly blushed, thinking about his bronzed skin, wrapped around tight muscles – then blushed even more because she'd been thinking about bronzed skin and tight muscles much too much as of late.

Once they'd all become 'comfortable' with one another, he'd taken to walking around shirtless every morning. At first it didn't faze her, but lately – his comfortable state was slowly driving her crazy. The clinical side of her blamed hormones. He was a healthy, young male who was attractive. She couldn't help her physical response. But then there was the other side of her that just couldn't stop thinking about the man who had been nothing more than a blip on the radar, but now couldn't imagine her life without.

'_How did that happen?'_ She wondered.

Shaking her head she focused on the task ahead. Take pancakes from stack, put on plate, butter, pour syrup, pick up knife and fork, cut, eat. It wasn't until she realized that she was counting the number of times she chewed each bite that she looked around at the men sitting with her. Miles was reading the back of a Dharma cereal box, Jin was doing a crossword puzzle, and Sawyer was looking at her like she had antlers growing out of her head.

"Whahpa?" she asked defensively, her moth full of pancakes. She started chew counting again - trying with all her might not to blush – or to lower her gaze.

He just shook his head and took another bite.

"Nothin' Blondie," he laughed. "Nothin' at all."

After breakfast she showered, dressed and left for work. She'd been working on one of the Dharma Buses all week. Something was wrong with the engine and she couldn't figure out what. The motor pool guys offered to help but she thought taking the engine apart would be a good learning experience for her.

She'd spent the better part of the morning under the bus, and decided a bit of fresh air was in order. She pushed out from under the bus, stood up and turned to pull the door open when she paused. A single daisy was stuck in the drivers side handle.

She laughed and smiled – pulled the flower from the handle and gave it a sniff. It was so simple, but so perfect. She opened the door to see if the engine would turn over and there were two more on the driver's seat, two on the passenger seat and one wrapped around the rearview mirror. Smiling and hopeful, she climbed in and turned the key but … nothing. Sighing she sat back and closed her eyes.

A minute or two later, after regrouping, she gathered the flowers and climbed out of the van – ready to tackle the pesky engine once again. Once out, she shut the door and went to climb back under the van. She stopped when she saw more flowers lying by the back tire.

"_How did he…"_ she wondered as she scooped them up; 6 more by the tire - 12 daisy's in all she counted. She buried her face in them once more, before getting back to work.

He had the late security shift so by the time she got home he had already left for the night.

He got home in the dead of night and was as awake and excited as a kid on Christmas morning. His spirits faltered however as he scanned their small house and didn't see any sign of white daisy's. He brushed his teeth and headed towards bed. As he passed her bedroom, he noticed the door was open just a crack. Peeking in he saw a dozen white flowers in a mason jar on her nightstand. He smiled, and kept walking.

* * *

**Day 2**

He had the day off and they'd decided to meet up for lunch in the cafeteria. By the time he got there, she was already seated with a tray of food. He hopped in line, grabbed a sandwich and went to sit across from her.

"Hey there Sunshine," he greeted as he sat down.

"Hey yourself."

She smiled and blushed slightly, the blushing made him smile – it was something she'd only recently started doing. Before that … he didn't think the woman was even capable of blushing. But whatever it was that was making her blush, he hoped it kept happening, because along with the blush always came that wide smile he'd become particularly fond of.

"Thanks for the flowers, they were perfect."

"Any time," he easily replied.

"Just one question though," she continued.

"What's that?"

"Why 12?" she asked. "Wasn't yesterday the first day of Christmas?"

He smiled and took a bite of his sandwich.

"I told you I wasn't good at doing things the right way," he replied. "Plus, I think when this all ends you'll be happy you waited 'til Christmas to get your partridge in a pear tree."

She laughed, "fair enough."

They continued eating and talking about their day.

As they finished up Sawyer leaned over the table, "Hey I hate to spring this on you last minute but Horace asked me to swing by his house tonight on my way home and I think I might be there awhile. So I'm sorry to say it'll just be you and Larry and Moe for dinner tonight."

She really was living with the three stooges! "That's okay," she replied. "Jin is cooking tonight and he's not half bad at it so I'm not too worried."

"Sorry to leave you high and dry just the same."

"Don't worry," she replied with a mischievous smile. "I'm sure you can make it up to me somehow!"

"We'll see about that darlin'" he laughed as they got up from the table.

He walked her back to the motor pool and headed over to Horace's house.

Later that evening, she walked in the door and found Jin and Miles hard at work in the kitchen. It actually smelled pretty good, which rose her spirits considerably. She walked into her room to change and stacked on her dresser were a bunch of books.

"_That's odd,"_ she thought.

But upon closer inspection she realized that they weren't books from the shelf in the living room, they were new books – well, new for the 70's anyway. 11 in all, brand new off the sub, and a few of them she hadn't even read before.

After dinner she settled into 'his' chair with one of the new titles. He found her that way an hour later, so engrossed she hadn't even heard him enter.

"Guess those will keep you busy for awhile," he said.

She jumped, the sound of his voice pulling her out of the book.

"At least a few days," she replied with a smile.

He returned the smile and headed towards his room.

* * *

**Day 3**

Sunday brought a reprieve from work for all, so they decided to get the tree up and decorate the house. Sawyer trimmed the branches off of the bottom of the tree, Jin strung the lights and Miles and Juliet were hard at work stringing popcorn and berries.

Juliet and Jin went to the rec room where they were handing out more decorations, upon returning, she noticed something out of place on the tree. Hanging from the branches were Polaroid pictures. She inched up for closer inspection and saw they were all of… "Radzinsky?" she questioned out loud. Each picture was different and in each picture he was PISSED!

Miles and Sawyer burst out of the kitchen laughing.

"You should have seen him man!" Miles exclaimed. Sawyer just shook his head and kept laughing.

"He stormed into the security station, ranting and raving about god knows what, and all of the sudden, LaFleur picks up the camera and just starts taking pictures." The two were laughing hysterically – they had tears running down their cheeks.

Miles couldn't talk, he was laughing so hard so Sawyer took over. "Each picture I took he got madder 'n madder."

"He tried to attack you!" Miles shouted.

Each picture she looked at got funnier and funnier because Radzinsky's face got redder and redder.

"So eventually he just stormed out, screaming Horace's name," James finished.

"Is that why you had to go to his house yesterday?" she asked.

"Well…" he paused, wiping a tear off his cheek. "It was one of a few reasons. But no big deal if you're worried about it."

"So why did we decorate our tree with them?" she asked.

"Count'em Blondie," Sawyer responded.

One by one she counted the pictures, until reaching a total of, "10?" she asked.

Sawyer laughed. "Yeah, I figure there's no better way to update 10 lords a leapin' than with 10 Radzinsky's a screamin'"

She stared at the tree for another minute then turned towards her friends with a huge grin on her face.

"It's perfect!"

* * *

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**The 12 Days of Christmas**

* * *

Thanks for all of your reviews! They definitely add fuel to the fire.

I don't know why I made promises that I couldn't keep…who promises to update a story right around Christmas time! Well, I thought I'd have enough time to get it all done but that hasn't turned out to be the case. So enjoy days 4, 5 and 6 and then enjoy your Christmas! Will get the last six days up soon though! Happy Holidays!

* * *

**Day 4**

Nine.

The number was stuck in her head. The last three days had been full of surprises, and as she dressed for work, she was as excited as a kid on Christmas. Some of his gifts had matched closely to what was in the song, but some were simply things that she loved. She was unable to imagine what was in store for today.

When she was done with work eight hours later however, the great mood she had woken up in had vanished. Now she knew why people hated working on Monday's. Everything piles up from the weekend and it ALL needs to be done.

By the end of her shift she had gone out into the field to fix two flats, she'd changed the breaks on a van, and had done a total of 7 oil changes. She was muddy, oily, greasy and annoyed. The last thing she wanted to do was to deal with three men.

Instead of heading home she took the familiar walk down to the docks. She stripped out of her coveralls and dove into the water – shorts, t-shirt and all. The cool water combined with her fast strokes soothed her muscles and washed away the grime from the day. Eventually, her arms grew tired so she simply floated on her back, letting the current carry her in while she watched the sky grow dim.

After the sun dipped below the horizon she headed back to the dock. When she was almost there she noticed a pair of legs dangling in the water. She swam to the ladder and pulled herself up. She rung out her hair, walked to the end and sat down next to Sawyer.

"Thought you could use this," he said as he handed her a towel.

"Thanks," she replied simply as she wiped off her face and arms and ran the towel through her hair.

They sat in companionable silence; watching as the stars appeared one by one.

"Rough day?" He finally asked.

She sighed. "You could say that."

"How about some magic fingers?"

Her mood rose considerably.

About a month after they arrived in the 70s, a particularly harrowing day at the motor pool, left Juliet completely hunched over. She had been studying motor components for the entire shift, which required her to be bent over a car. After eight hours, her back was stiff and she couldn't stand straight.

Sawyer had sat her down on the couch and had proceeded to give her the BEST back rub she had ever had. His fingers had some sort of magical powers that knew exactly where her aches and pains were, and he worked each of them out. When he was done, it was like she'd never even gone to work that day.

After that, he hadn't given them out often, but when he did; his back rubs made her feel like a new person.

He scooted back on the dock and she stood and sat between his legs. Her toes were skimming the water as he worked his magic. It felt fantastic.

"You know, you should have been a massage therapist," she said after a few minutes.

"Eh," he replied, "just imagine all the people you'd have to touch every day. I don't think I could do that."

She laughed, being a doctor, she knew just how he felt.

A few minutes later he stopped rubbing and her audible protest had him chuckling.

"That's it?" She asked.

"Yeah, nine whole minutes," he laughed.

"Nine?" she said. "NINE!"

He laughed as she stood up, her abrupt movement knocking him onto his back.

"Hey sunshine, you can give the gift back if you don't like it."

"Actually I loved it!" She replied. "It was the fastest nine minutes of my life though. I think they should change it to the 30 days of Christmas instead."

He laughed.

She walked to her clothes and picked them up. "I better head home get dinner started. I'm sure the boys are wondering where we are."

But he stopped her with a tug on the wrist. "Stay and chat awhile and maybe you'll get the rest of your gift," he said, with a certain measure of hope in his voice.

Smiling and intrigued, she dropped her coveralls,

He pulled her down so she was lying next to him. Sure they'd sat close to one another before but this was…different. She grabbed the towel and stuffed it under their heads and they laid and stared up at the stars. The night air was warm but her wet clothes had her leaning into his warmth. He put his arm under her head and wrapped it around her shoulders. It was amazing to her how content she was to just 'be' with him. How she would be more than okay with this moment, and nine more like it, to be the rest of her gift.

After awhile, he pulled a little booklet out of his pocket. "Happy fourth day of Christmas Blondie," he said with a grin.

She held up the booklet and saw it was coupons for back rubs, nine coupons for back rubs to be specific. He grabbed it back from her and ripped one off.

"One down, eight remain," he smiled as he handed it back to her.

"Are they all going to be only nine minutes long?" she asked with feigned innocence.

He just laughed.

She turned towards him, laid her head on his shoulder and smiled.

"Thanks James."

* * *

**Day 5**

After work on Tuesday, Juliet swung by the security station, grabbed Jin, and headed to the rec room. The sub had returned that morning and everyone had been picking up his or her parcels and packages all day. Juliet's Christmas gifts for her friends were waiting for her there, she had put thought into each and she was excited that they had finally arrived.

Upon reaching the rec room they saw that Sawyer and Miles were already there. Both were huddled over a small box with big grins on their faces.

"What's this all about?" she questioned.

The two jumped and quickly turned, hiding the box behind them.

"Uh, nothin', nothin' at all," Miles replied in a very unconvincing tone.

"Mmhmm," was all she said in reply before going to find her own boxes.

Her and Jin spent the next 15 minutes rifling through everything to find their stuff. She was about to walk out the door when Miles shouted from across the room.

"HEY JULIET!"

"What?" she replied, anxious to get home and open her packages.

"Can you come over here and help me with these?"

She watched as Miles attempted to carry three huge boxes, it obviously wasn't working out for him very well.

"Why doesn't Sawyer help you with them?" she asked, looking around for him.

"He, uh, he had to leave."

She just shook her head.

"Just take the two, I"ll get the third okay?"

"Thanks Juliet, you're the best." He said over his shoulder as he took the two boxes and ran out the door.

She placed her packages on top of the box and carried it all back to their house.

Miles had disappeared during transport, so she arrived home by herself. The front door was open and she merely assumed it was because Miles couldn't close it after carrying in the boxes. She placed the box on the front porch and walked in the house.

As she walked in, she noticed something on the floor. Small, round candies coated in chocolate. She picked a few up but they started to melt in her hand, so she simply proceeded to follow the trail. They ended up leading out the back of the house and on to the back porch. There she found Miles, Jin, Sawyer and a pyramid of Milk Duds boxes.

"Milk Duds!" she exclaimed. "I haven't had those in so long!"

The pyramid was made of seven boxes, and the boys were each eating out of the eighth.

"Eight maids a milkin' Sunshine," Sawyer drawled as they all chewed away.

"We had to put in our sub order weeks ago…how did you…"

He just winked and shrugged.

Smiling, she grabbed the box out of his hand and took a few for herself. They were content to hang on the porch and enjoy the delicious candy.

"So who's cleaning up the chocolaty mess in the hallway?" she finally asked.

The three stared at each other then proceeded to push and shove their way off the back porch. Jin and Sawyer made it off first and they headed for the quad. Miles started to follow, then turned back, grabbed the box back out of her hand, and then ran off.

She laughed, scooped up the other boxes, and headed back inside.

* * *

**Day 6**

That morning, instead of meeting in the mess hall for lunch, Sawyer had told her to wait at the motor pool, that he would come pick her up.

It was nearing noon and her stomach was growling. She was about to ditch him in favor of sloppy joes when he pulled up in his jeep.

"Hop in Blondie," he shouted.

She climbed in the jeep, noting the basket in the back seat.

They started driving and quickly reached the fence. He hopped out, turned off the fence and drove them to the other side.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see," he responded with a mischievous grin.

About 30 minutes later he stopped driving. They had reached a clearing but they were literally in the middle of the jungle, in hostile territory no less.

Sawyer hopped from the jeep, grabbed the basket out of the back and a blanket that had been sitting underneath it. He walked over to the middle of the clearing, laid down the blanket and proceeded to start pulling items out of the basket.

She was still sitting in the jeep.

"Where are we?" she asked.

He just smiled. "Are we going to eat lunch or what?"

She sighed and climbed down from the jeep.

The lunch he'd packed was actually quite good. Chicken salad sandwiches, some fresh fruit and bottled water. He had even snagged a box of milk duds for dessert.

They talked about their gifts for their friends over lunch. Juliet was excited to give Jin his Korean/English dictionary and Sawyer couldn't wait to give Miles his fake Dharma phone book. He'd changed all the phone numbers of all the girls who lived on the Island. It was going to be great.

Once they were finished eating, they laid down on the blanket, each in opposite ways so that their heads were close together.

"So why did we come all the way out here for lunch James?" Juliet asked again.

"To give you your gift," he responded.

"Seven milk duds at lunch don't count!" she joked and he laughed with her.

"Actually the reason we came out here is because this is where The Swan is going to be built."

She thought about it…seven swans a swimming.

"You're getting good at this," she said with a smile.

"Why thank you m'lady," he responded with a grin.

They laid in the sunshine for a little while longer, then packed up and headed back.

TBC...

* * *

My drive time might be off a bit for their trip to the swan…any ideas as to how far away from the barracks it actually is?? If anyone knows I'll be glad to correct it. Cheers!


	4. Chapter 4

**The 12 Days of Christmas**

* * *

Thanks for all the great reviews! And sorry for the break in the action, the days pass by way too quickly! Anyway, hope you all enjoy some after Christmas cheer!

* * *

**Day 7**

Juliet woke humming. _"On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me…"_

"_Whoa!"_ she thought as she climbed out of bed. _"I think that part of the song needs a bit of revising as well."_ And actually according to James it was now the sixth day of Christmas…she kept getting confused, but he had definitely made the song unique, and he had made the past week very exciting so she didn't mind at all.

She made her way to the bathroom, only to find it was already occupied. She knocked; hoping whoever was in there wasn't going to be in there much longer. After 30 seconds of no answer her hand lifted to knock again, but suddenly the door was pulled open. Steam billowed out along with Sawyer, who was wearing nothing but a dimpled grin and a towel around his waist.

"Well g'mornin' there Sunshine," He drawled out.

Juliet just stared. His skin was still damp from the shower, and she watched as a few beads of water dripped from the ends of his hair and rolled lazily down his chest.

He waved his hand in front of her face and she suddenly blinked and jerked back.

"Sleep walkin' again?" he laughed as he walked down the hall towards his room.

She smiled sheepishly and walked into the bathroom, mortified at the blushed cheeks that were mocking her in the mirror.

Breakfast was hurried, as she had agreed to get to the Motor Pool early. She never minded going in early because that meant she was able to leave early. Plus, it was Thursday, and that meant only one day until Friday and Friday meant…the Dharma Christmas Party.

Juliet wasn't sure why she was so excited about the party. She wasn't much for dancing, or crowds or mingling—maybe it was the fact that Miles couldn't stop talking about all the 'lovely ladies' that he was going to trap under the mistletoe, or that Jin actually seemed to be happy about the upcoming holiday, despite the fact that he was without Sun. Even Sawyer didn't seem to do too much grumbling about the impending Dharma get together.

Walking into the kitchen, she smiled at the three men sharing a quiet breakfast. Amid all the noise, chaos, clutter and confusion, sometimes she found herself inside a few happy moments. Smiling, Juliet grabbed an apple off of the counter and headed for the door, waving to her friends as she walked out.

--

The thunderstorm, and the fact that she never seemed to have an umbrella, put somewhat of a damper on her day, but as she ran home in the rain, she was happy just to be done with work.

She burst through the door, dripping wet, toed off her boots and bolted for the bathroom. After shutting the door she stripped out of her clothes and jumped into the shower. For her, there was no greater moment than washing away the grease of the day. After her shower she made her way into her bedroom. She put on pajama pants and was putting a tank top over her head when suddenly she heard an, "ahem" from the hallway.

She spun around, quickly pulling her shirt down, and found a smug looking Sawyer leaning against her door with his arms crossed in front of him.

"How long have you been there?" she asked.

He smiled at her, saying nothing.

"Make a habit out of spying on girls James?" she spat with a condescending tone as she grabbed the sweater hanging over her chair.

"Make a habit of leavin' your door open when you live with three men Juliet?" he shot back.

She knew he was right so, throwing on the sweater, she just grumbled and tried to walk past him, but his hand around her arm stopped her.

"Hey," he whispered.

She turned and their faces were mere inches apart.

He was staring into her eyes, trying to read her, but with her mask securely in place, he couldn't figure out what she was thinking. She licked her lips nervously, not sure what he was doing.

"What's that on your back?" he finally asked.

She squeezed her eyes shut, mask slipping away, and when she opened them she looked anywhere but at him. She had almost forgotten about the ugly scar on her back…almost.

"It's nothing," she said, trying to play it off. "Just an old scar."

But he wouldn't let her off easy.

"The hell it is," he replied, as he squeezed her arm in anger. "Somebody did that to you." He said forcefully. "Who?"

She knew he wasn't angry with her, but his reaction surprised her nonetheless. She figured honesty was the best policy at this point, and maybe once he heard how she got it, he'd back off.

"They marked me." She said simply, her gaze finally returning to his.

In that gaze he saw anger, hurt and betrayal…along with something else he couldn't quite pin point.

"They marked me because I killed one of our own."

"Who?" he asked, not quite as forcefully this time.

"Danny." Her voice was flat and emotionless as she said his name, but her eyes…her eyes were a different story entirely.

His filled with realization, a million thoughts rushing through is head. The emotion that prevailed however was anger. She watched it take over; knowing that he probably blamed himself. But it was a different time, and she wouldn't let him do that.

"James," she tried to pacify him, but he wasn't having it.

His hand slipped from her arm and his fists balled. He didn't understand. He couldn't.

"Why…"

"Hey guys, you didn't start playing without me, did you?"

Miles walked down the hall, stopping Sawyer from asking her any more about it. He looked between the two, sensing that he'd interrupted.

"Whoa, sorry." He said, putting his hands up in surrender as he started walking backwards. "Didn't mean to interrupt."

Grateful for the interruption Juliet started walking towards him.

"It's okay Miles," she said. "What is it we weren't supposed to start playing?"

"Uhh," Miles looked at Sawyer, who was resigned to put the conversation on hold.

"It's the sixth day of Christmas after all," Sawyer said, relenting. "Time for your gift."

He half smiled at her and she knew he would be upset until they could talk things through. But she was willing to play along for the sake of Miles.

"I've been looking forward to this all day," she said, her mood brightening some.

They walked out into the living room and she saw a pile of brand new board games on the coffee table.

She started laughing. "Six more chances for me to humiliate you guys, huh?"

That got a genuine smile out of Sawyer.

She scanned the table and saw some of her favorites. Scrabble, Monopoly, Sorry!, Connect Four, Battleship and one she didn't recognize -- Bermuda Triangle.

"Bermuda Triangle?" she questioned. "I've never heard of that one."

Sawyer laughed. "Yeah I saw that on the list and thought you might get a kick out of it."

She smiled at him and squeezed his hand, telling him with her eyes that she knew they needed to talk, but for now, they could just enjoy the evening.

"Thank you James," she said.

Miles waited no longer and dove into the stack.

"Which one are we playing first?"

She looked at Sawyer.

"It's up to you Blondie."

"How about Bermuda Triangle," she said. "I've never played it so you might actually have a chance to beat me."

"HA!" Miles shouted. "You're going down!"

Sawyer and Juliet laughed and the trio settled down to play some board games.

* * *

**Day 8**

The Christmas Party was in full swing. Alcohol was flowing, food was aplenty and the music was loud.

Miles had stolen Amy from Horace and was pushing her around the dance floor. Jin was chatting with a few guys from the motor pool, and Sawyer and Juliet were taking a break on one of the picnic tables that were set up in the quad.

"Nice evenin' huh?" Sawyer commented.

Juliet nodded. She wasn't uncomfortable around him, but since their conversation the previous evening, he'd been distant; only making comments about the most generic things. She knew it was the middle of the party but she wanted to clear the air. She didn't want to dance around the issue any longer.

"Want to take a walk?" She asked him.

He looked at her for a minute, trying to figure out what she was thinking, then nodded.

They stood and wandered away from the party, and after walking for a few minutes, ended up at the playground. Each chose a swing, and she pushed herself back and forth slowly, matching the beat of the music that wafted over.

"So about last night…" she started, but he quickly interrupted.

"Listen Juliet I got somethin' I wanna say."

She nodded, letting him continue.

"I was really angry when I found out what that scar was, and how you got it. And I wanted to justify it, wanted to blame someone. And it's tough because logic would tell me to blame myself." He paused, trying to figure out what to say next. "But then I had time to think about it and I know you did what you did, not to save me 'n Kate, but to help yourself…it was the only way for you to get off of the Island."

"James…"

"Just let me finish," he interrupted. "Juliet we aren't the same people now that we were then, we didn't know each other. The choices we made were made because we thought they were the right ones. And realistically, we made'em because we didn't really have any other choice."

He looked at her and smiled. "I mean, back then you were just the woman who tasered me…"

She laughed.

"…an' I was just the pest who kept givin' y'all a hard time." They were both silent for a moment, content to just swing back and forth.

"But the fact still remains that you saved my life, and was scarred for doing so. So…" He turned to look at her. "I just want to say I'm sorry."

She smiled a sad smile and looked into his eyes. She saw sorrow and guilt there, things he shouldn't be feeling.

"James you don't need to be sorry," she said, "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I know," he replied. "But I'm sorry just the same."

"It's okay," she said with a genuine smile.

He smiled back but then looked at her hesitantly.

"Juliet…" he started. "Can I…"

"See it?" she finished for him.

He nodded.

She stood from the swing, turned away from him and lifted her shirt.

He squatted down for a closer look, and traced his fingers lightly over the scar. It reminder her briefly of when Jack had done the same, but where Jack's touch had been warm and reassuring, James' sent a shiver of excitement down her spine.

She turned, dropping her shirt and sat back down on her swing.

He looked down at her and she couldn't quite figure out what he was thinking.

"So because of yesterday, I want to give you this."

He held out his hand and when she didn't do anything, he grabbed her hand and held it, pulling her back to her feet.

"Give me what?" she finally asked, not knowing where he was going with this.

"Five," he said. "Five fingers…well, four fingers and a thumb. But it's my hand Juliet." He paused, noticing her confused face. "When you need it, I want you to know you can take it." He held her hand tighter. "I know that you got my back and I know that I got yours, but, it's just us in this crazy, fucked up place. It's about more than just survival now. If we can't rely on each other no matter what, then we got nobody."

With tears threatening she simply nodded, not trusting herself to say anything.

"I had something else planned for tonight but after yesterday, I thought this would be more…fitting." He finished.

"It's perfect," she whispered as she squeezed his hand.

He smiled. "Well now that that's settled, lets get back to the par-tay! We haven't got nearly enough ammo on Miles yet."

She laughed, and they walked back to the party hand in hand.

* * *

**Day 9**

Saturday's were normally lazy days, but with the hustle and bustle of the holiday, everyone seemed to be out and about. Juliet had offered to help clean up after the party, so shortly after breakfast she had headed off to the rec room.

Everyone else must have either forgotten or found something better to do, because Juliet found herself strangely alone. She didn't mind too much though. Cleaning was mindless work, and she enjoyed the quiet.

She had been working for a couple of hours when a slamming door had her turning around. Sawyer walked in with a big bag in his hands.

"Lunch time Sunshine," he announced, and proceeded to set up the contents of their meal on the pool table. She suddenly realized that she was starving and walked over, grateful for the food.

They set everything up and sat down to eat.

Sawyer suddenly paused, looking around. "Hey, where is everyone?"

Juliet laughed. "I think they all found something better to do."

"Do you need any help?" he asked, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

She scanned the room. She had brought everything inside from the quad and was more than halfway finished picking up the remnants.

"Nah, I think I've got it. Not much left to do now."

"Well, why don't you let me help you anyway," he replied. "That way we can have some time to take a stroll on the beach later."

"Okay," she agreed, and they finished eating.

After lunch, Juliet started on one side of the room and Sawyer started on the other. About an hour later they met in the middle, a stack of games the last items to be put away. They each took an armload and walked over to the shelves in the corner. Once rightly in their place, the pair stood, scanning their accomplishment.

"Not bad, if I do say so myself." Sawyer said as he mockingly patted himself on the back.

"It's so funny." She then mused.

"What's that?" Sawyer asked.

"That even with all of the advancements that will be made between now and thirty years from now, this room will still look exactly the same."

"Well how about that," Sawyer laughed. "You're right."

"Even down to the Christmas decorations," she continued. "They are all the same and they'll always be put in the same spots."

They continued to scan the room.

"Except…" she started, then paused.

"Except what?" Sawyer asked.

"Except for the mistletoe," she eventually responded. "We always put it in the archway over there," she said as she pointed to the other side of the room.

Sawyer looked over. "So where is it?" he asked. "I bet Miles stole it."

They laughed.

Both surveyed the room, in search of the mistletoe, and both froze when they realized it was directly above them.

With a nervous laugh Juliet made to move towards the door, but a hand on her shoulder had her stopping and turning.

"Where do you think you're goin' Blondie?" He whispered as he pulled her hard against him.

The breath that she had been holding whooshed out of her with the sudden contact against his warm body. His arm had snaked its way around her and his hand was currently resting at the base of her neck. She didn't try to back away but his grip on her grew tighter nonetheless.

She forced her eyes to meet his, and what she saw there was both terrifying and exciting. The raw need was something she'd never seen in anyone before.

She didn't know how it happened but she suddenly realized that her arms were wrapped around him, her hands pressed flat against his back.

"James…" she whispered as her gaze fell from his eyes to his lips. They were mere inches apart yet the distance between his mouth and hers felt insurmountable.

He slowly drew her in, savoring the moment and he was a breath away from touching his lips to hers.

"There you guys are!"

The pair jumped apart, startled at the shout from across the room.

Miles looked at the two, suddenly realizing what he had walked in on.

"Shit!" he said seeing Sawyer's glare, knowing he'd again walked into the middle of something. "Uh…sorry," he said as he quickly ran out of the rec room.

Juliet let out a shaky breath and laughed.

Sawyer just looked at her muttering, "I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch."

"Don't say that," Juliet said playfully. "We know his mother and she is a very nice lady."

Sawyer had to laugh at that.

With the moment passing, Sawyer decided to carry on with his plans.

"How 'bout that walk Blondie?"

Juliet smiled up at him and nodded. With one last glance at the mistletoe, Sawyer shook his head and followed her out. The two left the rec room and headed towards the beach.

--

They walked the familiar shore towards their favorite spot. There was a slight curve at the end of the beach, and once rounded, provided a private little haven. They often wandered around the bend just to get away from it all.

Upon reaching their spot, Juliet saw the blanket. She smiled up at him.

"Another picnic?" she asked.

"Somethin' like that," he responded.

They reached the blanket and she saw a bottle of wine as well as,

"A guitar?"

"I've been known to strum a tune or two in my day," he lazily replied. "Have a seat Sunshine, for the fourth day of Christmas you get your very own concert." He paused and strummed a few fast chords. She laughed.

"Four requests, anything you want…," he continued, "well as long as I can play it," he winked at her and picked up the guitar.

"I didn't know you could sing," she said, as she sat down across from him.

"Well now ya do," he replied simply.

He sat down, grabbed the wine and two glasses. He poured each of them a glass, "Cheers," he said.

They clinked glasses and took a sip. He put his between his legs and picked up the guitar.

"So, what'll it be?" he asked. "And no Snoop Dog, someone might overhear us!"

They both laughed.

"Downtown," she then blurted out without even thinking.

"Hmm," he said, surprisingly not phased by the odd request. He strummed the chords and the familiar music had her smiling "You might have to help me with the words, I don't know if I know all of them."

She started, "When you're alone, and life is making you lonely, you can always go…"

"downtown," he finished. "Those pipes aren't too bad Blondie," he said as he continued to strum.

They both laughed and continued singing.

* * *

TBC

Three to go…


	5. Chapter 5

The 12 Days of Christmas

* * *

Alright…I've extended the Christmas cheer as long as I possibly can. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed….countdown to season 6 is officially on!

* * *

Day 10

It was 2 a.m. and Juliet couldn't sleep. Perhaps it was the fact that the holidays were almost upon them. Christmas in Dharmaville hadn't ever been all that great for her, and in the past, celebrating the day had only made her miss her sister. But if Juliet was being totally honest with herself, she would have to admit that at this particular moment (and most of her moments as of late) Rachel wasn't at the forefront of her thoughts. And what replaced the image of her sister was that of a certain southerner.

The clock had struck midnight and sick of tossing and turning; Juliet left her bed and opted for the back porch instead. There were two perfectly good plastic chairs, but she chose to sit on the steps. Hugging her knees she quickly lost herself in the last nine days, and what they all meant.

She couldn't deny the mounting attraction between her and James. The logical side of her brain told her that in their circumstances, it was only natural that they'd find solace in one another…and that their growing bond would eventually lead to more intimate notions. But what scared her most was that it wasn't just about the physical attraction. If all she wanted was a roll in the hay, she could have succumbed to that months ago – it wasn't like the other Dharma guys hadn't expressed interest.

But with James, he'd gotten under her skin, and not in a bad way, or rather, not always in a bad way. He was a part of her life, the best part of her life actually, and it was only in the past nine days that she had started to believe that they could be something more. But where was she supposed to go from here?

She jumped back to the present as she heard the door creak open. Sawyer padded out onto the deck, clad only in his boxers and a t-shirt.

"Bad dream?" he asked walking over to the steps.

She sighed. "No dream actually … can't fall asleep."

"Makes two of us."

Before he could take a seat next to her, she stood, walked out into the yard, and laid down in the grass, with arms and legs spread wide.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he moved to stand over her.

"Didn't you ever do this as a kid?" she asked, fanning her arms and legs over the soft grass, much like children do in the winter when making snow angels. "Didn't you ever roll around in the grass at night? Feel the cool earth against your body, the grass as it tickles the back of your knees." She paused, reminiscing. "Rachel and I used to sneak out into the yard when we were younger." She smiled, staring up into the sky. "More than once my parents found us sound asleep in the grass the next morning."

"When I was growin' up, if I was rollin' around on the ground it was because what I was feelin' against my body was another body," he responded with a wink and smile. "But I definitely recall the grass being a hell of a lot softer than the dirt."

Her laugh was genuine, as was the blush that covered her cheeks and the warmth that spread quickly throughout her body. Luckily, due to the darkness he didn't notice her sudden change in color. She'd be mortified if he knew the mere thought of him naked and rolling around on the ground outside turned her on.

But then she thought about just how many people he'd probably rolled around with in his youth. She knew his type, and she didn't understand how a person could just sleep with another person without any feelings or strings attached. Sure she'd made herself believe that if she wanted to have sex she could pick from any number of guys who were ready, willing and able, but that was an outright lie. When it came down to it, she just wasn't about one-night stands. The men she'd slept with in the past…she'd had feelings for all of them. She couldn't understand how people had sex just to have sex.

"Is it always just about sex with you?" she asked turning her head towards him.

Staring back at her with a gleam in his eye, suddenly, with speed he rarely exuded, he quickly rolled over and before she knew it, he was propped on his elbows, his body covering hers, and their faces were mere inches apart.

"I don't know…is it?" he whispered, as he looked intently into her eyes, his thumb brushing against her cheek.

"James," she whispered struggling to keep her eyes on his when his lips were so enticing. She didn't know how the conversation had turned so quickly but her it became harder to think with her body unconsciously arching up towards his. Mentally she was in a state of shock, but physically, she only wanted more.

That single syllable was all that was uttered before his mouth swooped down to capture hers.

She couldn't stop the moan that escaped her, and she quickly traded handfuls of grass for her hands against the warm of his back. He angled his mouth against hers, deepening the kiss. She snaked her hands underneath his shirt to feel the scorching skin below.

His soft hair fell and brushed against her cheeks as they continued to explore. Out of breath and panting he finally pulled back.

"What no rollin' around?" she asked in a fake southern accent.

He smiled, confident they were on the same page, and as he rolled over pulling her on top of him, he brought his mouth back to hers.

---

Around 4 a.m. Miles woke to his alarm. Grumbling, he got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom.

'_Whoever invented 5 a.m. security shifts were out of their mind!'_ he thought as he showered and brushed his teeth.

Once dressed, he headed to the kitchen to grab something to eat. With his stomach full and a lunch packed, Miles left the house and started on his way to work. He stopped suddenly, spotting his two friends spooning on the back lawn – sound asleep.

"AHEM!" he practically shouted, his voice echoing all around them. Sawyer and Juliet both jumped awake, suddenly realizing where they were. Color instantly flooded Juliet's cheeks; Sawyer just grumbled and rubbed his eyes.

Miles smiled and kept walking.

----

Sawyer and Juliet stood and made their way back into the house. They reached Juliet's bedroom door and Sawyer suddenly smiled.

"Stay here a minute, I'll be right back," he said with an excitement she didn't think was possible to exude at such an early hour.

Seconds after leaving he returned, with one hand behind his back.

"I was going to save this for a different time but I think, aah, given the circumstances, these might make for a more interesting 10th day of Christmas gift."

She held out her hand and into it he dropped, "keys?" she asked.

"Three keys," he replied.

"What are they for?" she asked.

"Just be patient, you'll find out soon." He smiled his full on dimple smile then leaned in for the softest of kisses.

"Get some sleep," he said, pulling back. "I'll see you in a few hours."

She just nodded and headed into her room. _'Three keys,'_ she thought. _'What were they going to open?'_

* * *

Day 11

It was Christmas Eve. The stockings were hung, the presents were wrapped and under the tree. The foursome found themselves sitting around the living room, sipping spiked eggnog and telling stories about their ghosts of Christmas past. Miles was attempting to keep the mood lively, but as they digressed further and further, they realized that none of them had the greatest childhoods, and more often than not, their Christmases were filled with sadness and longing.

Wanting to make the most of their Christmas, Juliet decided to intervene.

"…And so I had her up against the wall, one hand under her shirt and I was about to…"

"I think that's enough Christmas stories for one night," Juliet interrupted before Miles could finish his reminiscing.

"Couldn't agree more," Sawyer chimed in. "So what's there to do?"

"We could play cards?" Juliet suggested.

The three men simply grumbled, which had her smiling. She'd kicked their butts so many times they simply refused to play with her.

"How about a walk on the beach?" Jin suggested.

They all looked around at each other, liking the idea. Miles and Jin rose and walked towards the door.

"We'll meet you guys down there, just give us a few minutes," Sawyer said as he grabbed Juliet's hand, holding her back.

Miles smirked and Jin smiled and nodded, the two headed out and down towards the docks.

"What's up?" Juliet asked.

Sawyer smiled. "I just wanted to give you your 11th day of Christmas present and I didn't want those two around when I did."

She sat down, thinking he'd have to go get it, but was surprised when he reached in between the lower branches of the tree and pulled out a package that had been hidden from sight. It was flat and small, but had some weight to it. Juliet had no idea what it was.

She carefully opened the paper, noting that this was the first present he'd given that was actually wrapped. She found two small, silver picture frames. One had a candid shot of the two of them inside, they were sitting in the lunchroom sharing a laugh over god only knows what. While it only showed their profiles, she loved that it clearly captured how happy they were. The second frame was empty.

"I wanted to give you some pictures of us, but this was the only one that I could find. So, I figured we can get another one taken and put it in there."

"I love it James, thank you," she smiled and leaned over for a kiss. When she attempted to pull back, he pulled her in, deepening the kiss and causing a flush to creep up the back of her neck.

She finally pulled back, out of breath and whispered, "They'll be wondering where we are."

"So," Sawyer growled, then expelling a mock sigh of frustration, "We're gonna finish this one way or another Blondie, and no grass stains tonight," he joked.

She smiled, nodding and remembering the previous evening. The feel of him against her had been electrifying, but she refused to take things all the way, arguing that anyone could happen by at any moment…and that there were security cameras constantly scanning the area.

At that, he had begrudgingly relented, but had been looking at her like a hungry dog looks at a piece of meat ever since. While the comparison was crude, the feelings his stares evoked seemed to be something other than human. Juliet had never been so aware of herself or of someone else in her entire life. Currents ran through her and she felt like her body was humming with electricity. She had to get away from him or they'd never make it down to their friends.

She stood, grabbed his hand and pulled him off the couch.

They took the familiar path down to the beach, and under an almost full moon, easily found their friends at the end of the dock. They made their way down and when they'd almost reached the end, Sawyer unceremoniously lifted Juliet over his shoulder and ran the rest of the way.

"DON'T YOU DARE JAMES F… LA'FLEUR!" She shouted.

Jin and Miles were laughing hysterically, as was Sawyer. Finally, after several false attempts of swinging her out and over the water, following an especially powerful swing, he simply let go.

She screeched like a girl as she flew into the air, hitting the water with a huge splash. Surfacing she looked at the three men staring down at her.

"None of you are getting any Christmas presents," she shouted. "I'M TAKING THEM ALL BACK!" She immediately started swimming towards shore

"I don't think so," Miles shouted after her. "I NEED that phonebook!"

The trio of men looked back and forth between each other, then.

"ONE, TWO, THREE!" Shouted Sawyer and the all jumped in together.

* * *

Day 12

Dinner was winding down, she couldn't eat another bite. As the four friends attempted to clear their plates of the fantastic Dharma Christmas feast, Juliet paused to simply take in the moment. She couldn't remember a better Christmas … even if it was in the 70s and surrounded by Dharma members. They sat at a table in the cafeteria -- Horace's idea. He wanted everyone to have a good Christmas, and because not all of the Dharma members had close family or friends on the island, he'd decided a dinner party was in order.

Juliet didn't mind, because it meant she didn't have to cook. And it also meant guilt free eating seeing as they wouldn't be plagued with leftovers. She stood and grabbed their plates, and took them over to the dishwashing window. Some poor shmuck would be stuck with those dishes later and she was selfishly glad it wasn't her.

Finished eating, everyone rose to mingle and the desserts were being laid out on a table in the corner. She surveyed the room, taking it all in, truly happy to be celebrating Christmas.

She watched Sawyer walk towards her, and couldn't help but smile.

"Come with me," Sawyer whispered in her ear, sending shivers up and down her spine. He tugged on her hand and led her out the back door.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see," he responded. "But we have to make a stop and grab something first."

They walked towards their house, and once inside, she waited in the living room while he walked towards the bedrooms. A minute later he walked out, one hand in his pocket.

"Ready?" he asked, all dimples.

"Sure."

They started walking. He led her past the playground, across the quad and towards the newer section of Dharmaville. As the community had grown, more houses had been built. Juliet knew that the newest of the houses had just been finished a few weeks prior. They stopped in front of one of the new builds, Sawyer reached into his pocket and produced a set of keys … _her_ set of keys.

"But," Juliet said, confused as to what was going on.

"Go see if they fit," Sawyer responded, as he handed her the keys and gave her a small push towards the house.

She walked up to the front door, and tested her keys. The first one didn't fit, but the second one slid right in. Turning the key, she unlocked the door.

She walked into the darkened home, still not sure what was going on. Sawyer followed her in and flipped the light switch. The rooms lit up, she noticed the layout was similar to their own, but everything just seemed…newer. The furniture was brand new, and the house lacked the odds and ends that made a house a home, but for a moment she imagined herself living in this house, and she hoped that he wasn't playing a cruel joke on her.

"Happy 12th day of Christmas Juliet," he said, not wanting to keep her in the dark any longer.

"This is for me?" She asked, her face full of surprise. "You got me a house?"

His smile faltered for a second, "Well, actually what I had in mind was…"

Realization dawning, she cut him off, "You got us a house."

It wasn't a question but a statement.

She wrapped her arms around him drawing him close, and they simply stood in each other's arms and took it all in.

"Merry Christmas James," she said, finally pulling back. "This was the best Christmas I've ever had."

"Back 'atcha Blondie," he replied and lowered his mouth to hers.

* * *

The end! Sorry so full of fluff…but I needed just one more happy ending for those two!


End file.
